Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!ncar!gatech!uflorida!codas!cpsc6a!atl2!akgua!mtunx!mtune!mtgzz!drutx!dvac
From: dvac@drutx.ATT.COM (VachonD)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.modems
Subject: Re: Firmware Piracy
Message-ID: <6992@drutx.ATT.COM>
Date: 18 Mar 88 16:29:38 GMT
References: <560@teemc.UUCP> <1167@percival.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T, Denver, CO
Lines: 37

In article <1167@percival.UUCP>, nerd@percival.UUCP (Michael Galassi) writes:
> In article <560@teemc.UUCP> wayne@teemc.UUCP (/\/\ichael R. \/\/ayne) writes:
> >	I agree about that this is a bad policy and complained directly
> >to Telebit about it (one would think that free exchange on EPROMs for a
> >year would be reasonable).  They did not seem supportive of this notion.
> >My suggestion is to find yourself somebody with 4.0 firmware and a PROM
> >burner. 
> 
> I hope I miss-read you here, you are suggesting firmware piracy? ...
>
> Another point, while there may have been some bug fixes in the 4.00 roms
> the packet size is NOT a bug fix, the modem was designed this way from
> the start and has been documented to function this way all along.  It is
> a new feature which has been added, you are getting more value (if you
> use the modem interactively) by upgrading to the new PROMs, it is only
> fair that you should pay for it, after all, Telebit's programmers were
> most likely not working for free when they came up with the new FEATURE.

Maybe Telebit should be a little more friendly to their customers....  If one
thing promotes software/firmware piracy the most, it seems to be companies that
fail to support their products willfully after they leave their building. 
Especially if it is a deal where bugs have been fixed in the firmware of a
modem.  

I have a friend that bought the Practical Peripherals 2400 baud modem for a BBS
and had problems with it disconnecting on people.  He sent the firmware back to
Practical Peripherals and they sent him a new set of firmware free of charge.
Thats is the kind of support these companies should provide... Not a "you
bought it, now you are stuck with it" attitude!

][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][
][                                         !rutgers!moss \                 ][
][ Later Days -=> Daniel Vachon <=-        !ucbvax!ihnp4  > !drutx!dvac    ][
][                                          !mtune!ihnp4 /                 ][
][ "This project is so secret, even                                        ][
][    I don't know what I'm doing!"             Apple ][ Forever           ][
][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][